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Fire lookout · Snohomish County, Washington

Red Ridge Lookout Site

Snohomish County L-4 cab built 1936; removed or destroyed in 1967 per two sources; no source describes what remains today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Ground-level cabL-4 cabThe design: L-4
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1936
Height
Unknown
Elevation
2,800 ft (853 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Snohomish County, Washington
Coordinates
48.05669, −121.28006
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-red-ridge

View from the cab

What the lookout saw from its cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 4.3 MB of terrain data the first time.

Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1935 EventPanoramic photographs dated August 9, 1935 (register), a year before the listed build yearSource: firetower.org
  2. 1936 BuiltL-4 cab built, per the register and FireLookout.comSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  3. No record between 1936 and 1967
  4. 1967 RemovedRegister says removed; FireLookout.com says destroyedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  5. No record between 1967 and 2012
  6. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered April 24, 2012; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  7. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Red Ridge is a former lookout site in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, in Snohomish County, Washington.1 It sits about eight miles southwest of Glacier Peak.2

An L-4 cab went up on the ridge in 1936, according to the Former Fire Lookout Sites register and FireLookout.com.1,2 The register also lists panoramic photographs dated August 9, 1935, a year before that build year.1 The sources do not explain that gap.

The cab was lost in 1967.1,2 The register says it was removed that year, while FireLookout.com says it was destroyed.1,2 The two sources agree on the year but not on how the cab left the ridge.1,2

The register added the site to its list in 2012, after a nomination by Ray Kresek.1 No source we read describes what, if anything, remains on the ridge today, or whether the public can reach it.1,2

  1. Red Ridge Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/red-ridge-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Red Ridge Fire Lookout Cabin, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/redridge.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Red Ridge Lookout (no date)
Red Ridge Lookout (no date)Photo: Eric Willhite collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Red Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-9-1935 (N)
Red Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-9-1935 (N) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Red Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-9-1935 (SE)
Red Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-9-1935 (SE) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Red Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-9-1935 (SW)
Red Ridge Lookout panoramic 8-9-1935 (SW) (1935)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: links firelookout.com · No licence stated on the site; facts only (coordinates, elevation, built/destroyed years, design, agency). Photos mirrored with the site's stated credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, agency, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.